In a new research paper published on May 17, 2020, Suffering in Silence: How COVID-19 School Closures Inhibit the Reporting of Child Maltreatment, three researchers document how the closure of schools across the country is affecting reports of child abuse and neglect. The authors examine historical patterns of child abuse reports going down when schools
On Tuesday, May 12, 2020, child welfare leaders from Washington D.C. and Virginia discussed how the region’s foster care and child welfare services are being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic during the nationally syndicated public radio Kojo Nnamdi Show. The guests included Brenda Donald, District of Columbia, Director, DC Child, and Family Services Agency, Sharra
On Tuesday, May 12, 2020, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) unveiled the $3 trillion Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, the next major coronavirus relief bill. The legislation provisions related to former foster youth and other vulnerable youth populations includes the following emergency assistance: • $50 million for the John H. Chafee Foster
On Wednesday, May 6, 2020, Senator Ron Wyden introduced the Invest in Child Safety Act. The legislation, which CWLA has endorsed, attempts to deal with the child sexual abuse problem that has exploded as the use of the internet and related social media have expanded over the past decade. It creates an office to enforce and protect
On Thursday, May 7, 2020, the National Center for Victims of Crime (“NCVC”), the National Children’s Alliance (“NCA”), and the Child Welfare League of America (“CWLA”) sent a letter to the nation’s governors asking for them to focus attention on the need to address child sexual abuse. While there has been some attention to the concern that
On Wednesday, May 6, Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Representative Kim Schrier (D-WA), and colleagues introduced the Emergency Funding for Child Protection Act that would bolster efforts by child protective services and non-profits to prevent abuse. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) provides funding to states to improve child protective services and funds community-based
On Wednesday, May 6, 2020, Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Joni Ernst (R-IA) urged the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to issue best practices and guidelines to prevent infections in juvenile detention facilities. The Senators reported that as of May 5, there were “at least 204 juvenile offenders and
On Thursday, March 26, 2020, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) released six more Title IV-E Prevention Services programs and services ratings for the Title IV-E Prevention Services in accordance with the Family First Prevention Services Act. These practices include mental health services, substance abuse prevention and treatment services, in-home parent skill-based programs, and
The Child and Family Service Agencies (CFSA) in Washington, D.C. has made changes to services in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. While the government agency is still providing services, the front-line staff and supervisors of Program Operations are under partial telework status. While the building is closed to the public, supervisors are still required to
On Tuesday, March 3, 2020, the Subcommittee on Appropriations for the Department of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies held a hearing entitled “Reducing Child Poverty.” Seven witnesses gave testimony: Dolores Acevedo-Garci, Professor of Human Development and Social Policy and Brandeis University, Douglas Besharov, Professor at the University of Maryland’s School of
